West Perry unveils memorial

A dual dedication was held April 20 for the Veterans Memorial Grove and the Mogadishu Memorial at West Perry High School.

Two keynote speakers and many grateful
veterans were on hand, along with high school students and residents as
the Student Senate and History Club made their fourth presentation of
memorials to veterans. The Mogadishu Memorial and Veterans Grove follow
the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam memorials created, funded and
dedicated by the students.

The Veterans Grove, behind the high
school, is a living memorial with more than $2,000 worth of trees
planted in honor of the U.S. military.

The Mogadishu Memorial is the first
memorial in the grove. The memorial honors the 19 men who lost their
lives in the battle of Mogadishu on Oct. 3, 1993. Among the Army Rangers
who died were SFC Randall Shughart and MSG Gary Gordon, who volunteered
for the mission to rescue the crew of a downed Blackhawk helicopter.
Gordon and Shughart were awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously.

The dedication of West Perry’s memorials
often attract dignitaries, such as former Gov. Tom Ridge. Gen. H. Norman
Schwarzkopf sent a letter that was read by Brenda Fillmore Perry,
sister of SFC Earl Fillmore, who died in the battle of Mogadishu.

The keynote speaker for the day was John
F. Magill Jr., Ed.D. Magill, a World War II paratrooper, was wounded
three times. He was a teacher at Blain Union High School. He said that
Jeff Popchock, a West Perry teacher and adviser of the History Club, has
picked up a torch that had been burning in Perry County’s history for
more than 200 years. Magill said that when he left the Army to teach at
Blain Union, he had to make history come alive. “We made it real,” he
said.

Magill said his students found three
abandoned graves in the Blain area that belonged to Revolutionary War
veterans, and went on to find the graves of Civil War veterans.

Magill was pleased to see that Blain Union
had become part of West Perry, where the torch was being carried on,
making history real for students.

A ribbon to the grove was cut by veterans
from conflicts from World War II to the present, as well as family
members and mentors of county men who died in the Iraq war, Marine Lance
Cpl. Jason Frye, Sgt. Brent Dunkleberger and Army Pvt. David Dietrich.

The ceremony continued with the dedication
of the Mogadishu Memorial. Col. Lee Hansen was wounded in Mogadishu two
weeks before the battle that took the lives of the 19 men. He said he
thought he was going to die during a mortar attack. “It blew the
stuffing right out of me,” he said.

Of the battle of Mogadishu, Hansen said
Shughart and Gordon requested to rescue their fallen comrades three
times before they were approved for the mission, of which they knew had
little chance of success.

“They were the men who raised their hands and said, ‘Send me,’” said Hansen.

Shughart’s parents, Herb and Lois
Shughart, live in Perry County. They were part of the unveiling,
accompanied by friends and family of SFC Fillmore.

The Mogadishu Memorial consists of two
stones together, weighing approximately 7 tons. The stones have plaques,
one lists the names of the men who died. The other is engraved with the
Ranger’s Creed.